The Maximum Nickelback Ride
by Falling Closer To The Edge
Summary: A series of songfics all based off Nickelback songs. So far, it includes Far Away, Photograph, Savin' Me, Rockstar, and If Everyone Cared. More to come. Fang spoilers.
1. Far Away

Far Away

**I do not own Max Ride, or the song Far Away by Nickelback. Set Post–FANG.**

Oh, God. The Pain. Every second took him farther from Max, farther than what seemed like life itself. Fang couldn't help it; he tucked his wings under and landed on a tree branch to cry. That tune in his head. What was it? Ah, yes. Tears rolling silently down his cheeks, he opened his mouth and sang softly…

_This time, this place, _

_Misused, Misplaced._

_Too long, too late,_

_Who was I to make you wait?_

That's what they were, weren't they? Just mistakes. Test tube babies. But not Max. Never Max.

_Just one chance, just one breath,_

_Just in case there's just one left,_

'_Cause you know, you know, you know,_

Max at five laughing in the dog cages at the School. Max flying for the first time. Max's face the first time she left the School.

_That I love you,_

_I have loved you all along._

_And I miss you_

_Been far away for far too long_

It had been only an hour, but already pictures were flashing through Fang's head. Max throwing snowballs at him from the sky. Her first birthday party. Jeb had bought her a pink cake. Max playing catch with Ari using two beat-up mitts and a tennis ball. Max crying on Fang's shoulder when Jeb died.

_I keep dreaming, you'll be with me,_

_And you'll never go._

_Stop breathing if_

_I don't see you anymore._

Max screaming from the nightmares that came, waking him to talk to at one in the morning. Max flying to the School to rescue Angel, a tiny dot in the vast sky.

_On my knees, I'll ask_

_Last chance for one last dance._

'_Cause with you, I'd withstand,_

_All of Hell to hold your hand._

'_Cause you know, you know, you know…_

Total's wedding. Why didn't he ask her to dance? She looked beautiful. So beautiful it hurt. A leader of the lost, the broken.

_I'd give it all, _

_I'd give for us._

_Give anything, but I won't give up,_

'_Cause you know, you know, you know_

Damn that Dylan. Mr. Perfect. Fang cried for lost love, lost hope, a saved world. He stood, and sang out, arms open wide.

_That I love you,_

_That I have loved you all along._

_And I miss you,_

_Been far away for far too long._

Her smile. Her snarl. Her comforting face as she whispered in Nudge's ear. Max laughing as they sang a cringe-worthy rendition of "Don't Stop Believing." Why did he have to leave her?

_So far away._

_Been far away for far too long._

_So far away._

_Been far away for far too long,_

_But you know, you know, you know,_

Why was Dylan with Max when he had to be so far away? They were probably having a wonderful life, and had forgotten all about him. They would be all, "Fang? Fang who?

_I wanted  
I wanted you to stay  
'Cause I needed  
I need to hear you say  
That I love you  
I have loved you all along  
And I forgive you  
For being away for far too long  
So keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore_

A thump behind him made Fang's head turn. Max's tearful face stared into his.

"All you had to do was ask, Fang. Who said you had to sing to me to come back?"

He tilted his head back and kissed her, and the words sang out in his head.

_Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore  
Believe it  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me and, never let me go  
Keep breathing  
Hold on to me and, never let me go_

I will never let you go Max, he swore. I will never let you go.

**Yes, cheesy ending, I know, but please review anyway. **


	2. Photograph

**Photograph**

_Look at this photograph_

_Every time I do it makes me laugh_

_How did our eyes get so red?_

_And what the hell is on Iggy's head?_

Max lay on the floor of her bedroom, flipping aimlessly through the photo album Angel had made for her. It had been two months since Fang had left, and she couldn't stop thinking about him. Looking at the photo of the Flock, standing together, she smiled slightly. Why on earth did Iggy have a watermelon balanced on his head? Who knows? She turned to look at the next photo.

_This is where I grew up_

_I think the present owner fixed it up_

_I never knew we ever went without_

_The second floor is hard for sneaking out_

It was a picture of their old house, from when Jeb still lived with them. Max missed that home, but she knew it was long since gone. Still, one thing was true; the second floor was nearly impossible to sneak out of. She remembered one night where Fang had found her, half-in and half-out of the window, stuck. By the time she reached the ground, the whole house was awake. Next photograph.

_This is where I went to school_

_Most of the time I had better things to do_

_Criminal record says I broke out twice_

_Must have done it half a dozen times_

Why did Angel take a picture of the School? And when did she take it? It looked so foreboding, and evil. Cold stone walls, high fences, barbed wire. It fairly screamed prison. Thank goodness they were out of there.

_I wonder if it's too late _

_Should I go back and try to graduate_

_Life's better now than it was back then_

_If I was them I wouldn't let me in_

Graduate from the School. Max laughed at that ridiculous thought. She would never go back to that jail, ever. Unless Fang was there. He might have gone back, but she doubted it. Wherever he was, he wasn't coming back. But Max refused to believe that. Refused to say goodbye to Fang, for once and for all.

_Every memory of looking out the back door_

_I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor_

_It's hard to say it, time to say it_

_Goodbye, Goodbye,_

_Every memory of walking out the front door_

_I found the photo of the friend I was looking for_

How hard it was to do just that. Say it. One word, seven letters. Goodbye. But no. He has to come back, Max thought. Why couldn't she admit it? Every picture brought back memories, memories of Fang. Every touch softened, every smile broadened, every tear shed.

_It's hard to say _

_It's time to say it_

_Goodbye, Goodbye_

Every fight weathered, every noise loudened, every flight quickened. All because of the memory of Fang. She would not give up hope. Next picture.

_Remember the old arcade_

_Blew every dollar that we ever made_

_The cops hated us hanging out_

_They say somebody went and burned it down_

Jeb took them to an arcade once, a few years ago. Iggy and Gazzy had become obsessed with the bomber plane games, and Nudge and Angel loved pinball. Fang… Fang watched, and smiled at them, occasionally joining the rest of the group. He was pretty good at mini golf, though. But no, somebody didn't burn it down. Erasers did tear the place up, though, about a year after they went. Next photo.

_We used to listen to the radio_

_And sing along with every song we'd know_

_We said someday we'd find out how it feels_

_To sing to more than just the steering wheel_

Max smiled slightly. Fang had always thought it would be so cool to be a rockstar. She knew Ella played electric guitar and sang, but that was the closest anyone had gotten to getting to the big times. Iggy did occasionally attempt clarinet, but that was unmentionable. Dylan though, was better than Bono. But Max didn't want to think about him. She wanted Fang.

_Fang's the first guy I kissed_

_I was so nervous that I nearly missed_

_He's had a couple of fights since then_

_I haven't seen him since God knows when_

This page was devoted entirely to pictures of Fang. Max would always remember their first kiss, on the beach. Their second, their third. Hopefully, there would be more to add to that list. But unless he came back, it would stay that way forever. But he said he wasn't coming back, right? Not for twenty years he wasn't.

_I miss that town_

_I miss their faces_

_You can't erase_

_You can't replace it_

_I miss it now_

_I can't believe it_

_So hard to stay_

_Too hard to leave it_

_If I could relive those days_

_I know the one thing that would never change_

Max would change almost nothing. She would, though, have made Fang stay. That would have been it. Everything else…

_Every memory of looking out the back door_

_I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor_

_It's hard to say it, time to say it_

_Goodbye, Goodbye,_

_Every memory of walking out the front door_

_I found the photo of the friend I was looking for_

_It's hard to say _

_It's time to say it_

_Goodbye, Goodbye_

I have to, Max thought, I have to. Goodbye, Fang. Fly on…

_Look at this photograph_

_Every time I do it makes me…_

**Quick A/N- The real song talks about these people named Kim and Joey. Since there are no characters in MR by those names, I substituted those for Iggy and Fang. There are a few other minor changes, just to make it less confusing.**


	3. Rockstar

**Rockstar**

**Quickie A/N~ this is another songfic where a few of the words have been changed, just to make more sense. So, technically, it's not a songfic, but whatever.**

Amp…check. Cords…check. Strings…check. Ella plucked a few notes on her brand new electric guitar, and smiled. Perfect. One more scale, and…

_I'm through with standin' in lines that I'll never get in_

_It's like the bottom of the ninth, and I'm never gonna win_

_This life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be_

So far, so good. Ella had been perfecting this song for weeks; the first she had ever written. And, she decided, the first song to be played on her brand new guitar.

_I wanna brand new house on an episode of Cribs_

_And a bathroom I can play baseball in_

_And a king size tub big enough for ten plus me._

The Flock didn't even know that she played and sang. It was her secret dream, one she thought about every night, lying in bed. Screaming crowds, blaring music, flashing lights. Her dream.

_I'll need a credit card that's got no limit_

_And a big black jet with a bedroom in it_

_Gonna join the mile high club at thirty seven thousand feet._

Not just the music. Ella wanted that feeling of total power, knowing that you had something others only imagined. She would be a rockstar, the best of the best. The elite of the musical world.

_I wanna new tour bus full of old guitars_

_My own star on Hollywood Boulevard_

_Somewhere between Cher and James Dean is fine for me_

_I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame_

_I'd even cut my hair and change my name_

Ella would need a stage name. Something bold and mysterious, but still screamed rock. Hmm, she'd think about this later. _Winged_. Or maybe _Flightless_.

_Cuz we all just wanna be big rockstars_

_Livin' hilltop houses driving fifteen cars_

_The guys come easy and the drugs come cheap_

_We'll all stay skinny cuz we just won't eat_

_And we'll hang out in the coolest spots_

_In the VIP with the movie stars_

_Every good gold digger's gonna wind up here_

_Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair_

_Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar_

Ella had made sure that everyone had left the house before she got out her music and guitar. Max and the flock were shopping, and her mom was at her weekly book club. They would never understand her passion for music, anyway.

_I wanna be great like Elvis without the tassels,_

_Hire eight bodyguards that love to beat up assholes_

_Sign a couple autographs so I can eat my meals for free_

_I'm gonna dress my ass with the latest fashion_

_Get a front door key to the Playboy mansion_

_Gonna date a centerfold who loves to blow my money to me _

_I'm gonna trade this life for fortune and fame_

_I'd even cut my hair and change my name_

After a few years, Ella would marry some hot guy. Preferably one named Iggy, but anyone would do. Maybe, after a few years, Iggy could tour with her. She would be guitar and vocals, while he would play drums. That was an idea she'd remember later.

_Cuz we all just wanna be big rockstars_

_Livin' hilltop houses driving fifteen cars_

_The guys come easy and the drugs come cheap_

_We'll all stay skinny cuz we just won't eat_

_And we'll hang out in the coolest spots_

_In the VIP with the movie stars_

_Every good gold digger's gonna wind up here_

_Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair_

_And we'll hide out in the private rooms _

_With the latest dictionary of today's who's who_

_You'll get you anything with that evil smile_

_Everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial_

_Well, hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar_

_I'm gonna sing those songs that affect the senses _

_Gonna pop my pills from a Pez dispenser_

_Getting washed up singers writing all my songs _

_Lip synch 'em every night so I don't get 'em wrong…_

The last lines. The most important ones. It tells the listener _here. The end. Are you going to forget this song, or remember it?_

_Well, we all just wanna be big rockstars_

_Livin' hilltop houses driving fifteen cars_

_The guys come easy and the drugs come cheap_

_We'll all stay skinny cuz we just won't eat_

_And we'll hang out in the coolest spots_

_In the VIP with the movie stars_

_Every good gold digger's gonna wind up here_

_Every Playboy bunny with her bleach blond hair_

_And we'll hide out in the private rooms _

_With the latest dictionary of today's who's who_

_We'll get you anything with that evil smile _

_Everybody's got a drug dealer on speed dial_

_Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar_

_Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar_

"Not bad. Not bad at all" Ella turned towards the door, and leaning against it was Iggy, armed with a camcorder, grinning.

"Iggy! How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to record a video of Ella Martinez singing and playing her original song, _Rockstar._ Helloooo, YouTube!"

"What…what?"

"You heard me. Within ten minutes this video will be up on YouTube for the world to see. And you can't stop me."

Ella smiled, making a split second decision.

"I wasn't planning on it."


	4. Savin' Me

Savin' Me

_Risen gates won't open up for me_

_On these hands and knees I'm groaning_

_Oh, I reach for you_

_Well, I'm terrified of these four walls_

_These iron bars can't hold my soul in_

_All I need is you_

I look through the crate to the cage next to me. Max is sleeping, blissfully unaware of what is about to happen. She will wake up alone.

_Come, please, I'm calling_

_And, oh, I scream for you_

_Hurry, I'm fallin, I'm fallin_

_Show me what it's like_

_To be the last one standin'_

_And teach me wrong from right_

_And I'll show you what I can be _

_Say it for me, say it to me_

_And I'll lay this life behind me_

_Say it if it's what's savin' me_

It had been the younger ones first. Angel and Gazzy. Later, they took Nudge, and Iggy. Iggy returned for a few days, blinded, but he was gone soon enough. Now, only Max and I remain. We still don't know where they are.

_Heaven's gates won't open up for me_

_With these broken wings I'm fallin'_

_All I see is you_

_These city walls ain't got no love for me_

_I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story _

_Oh, I scream for you_

_Come please, I'm callin'_

_And all I need from you_

_Hurry, I'm fallin'_

_I'm fallin'_

It had been Angel who had stolen it. Passed it on to Gazzy, who gave it to Nudge, then Iggy, then to me. It was good for one person, one time. A pass card, with a code written on the back. It enabled you to enter any part of the School, or, for us, exit.

_Show me what it's like_

_To be the last one standing_

_And teach me wrong from right_

_And I'll show you what I can be_

_Say it for me, say it to me_

_And I'll lay this life behind me_

_Say it if it's what's savin' me_

Four. That was the number of times I could have escaped. Left Max behind and flown away. So far away, the white coats could never find me. But I didn't. I couldn't. That was about to change, though. Our project has been terminated. They were to destroy all evidence, save one specimen. That had to be Max.

_And all I need is you_

_Come, please, I'm callin'_

_And oh, I scream for you_

_Hurry, I'm fallin' I'm fallin'_

_Show me what it's like_

_To be the last one standing_

_And teach me wrong from right_

_And I'll show you what I can be_

_Say it for me, say it to me_

_And I'll lay this life behind me_

_Say it if it's what savin' me_

By now the scientists have entered, looking grim. They head towards Max's cage.

"No! Me! Take me!" I cry out, praying they heed me.

One shrugs. "Why not?"

They open my cage, and haul me out of it, and pull me towards the door, but not before I make my last request: let me say goodbye to Max.

I crouch by her cage, and kiss her forehead, sliding the pass card and a note under her arm.

"I'm ready." I have no idea what is waiting for me beyond that door. Honestly, it doesn't really matter. Max can escape, and truthfully, what else could've happened to us? I'm willing to accept this fate.

And the note? It said six words.

_Now I know what's saving me_


	5. If Everyone Cared

If Everyone Cared

**Warning-Implied character death. If you don't like it, turn back now.**

**Dylan's POV**

_From underneath the trees_

_We watched the sky_

_Confusing stars with satellites_

_I never dreamed that you'd be mine_

_But here we are_

_We're here tonight_

"Hey"

"Hey" I'm sitting on the roof of our home-wow; it feels so odd to say I have home-two weeks after Fang left. It's always been my spot, a place I can go to forget. Forget I'm a freak. Forget I'm considered a brainless model/player by every female within fifty feet. Forget I'm in love with a girl who thinks her soulmate is my sworn enemy.

"What are you doing up here?" Max never comes up to the roof. Apparently brings back _bad memories. _

"Couldn't sleep."

"Me neither" Max and I have been on tentative ground, now that Fang left. I guess it's because the Flock is expecting us to fall in love already. At least, they're waiting for Max to express her undying love to me. Or something like that.

"Hey, is that a shooting star?" Sadly, with my super vision, I can see it's the Space Station.

"Nah, it's a satellite."

"Oh." She sighs, and leans over, resting her head on my shoulder. Now what?

"Why, Dylan? Why do there have to be horrible people like the scientists from Itex? Why can't everyone save the planet themselves? Why do we consider it a success if we escape something with our lives?"

"I don't know, Max. I don't know."

_Singing Amen I'm alive_

_Singing Amen, I'm alive_

_If everyone cared, and nobody cried_

_If everyone loved, and nobody lied_

_If everyone shared, and swallowed their pride_

_Then we'd see the day that nobody died_

"The world would be so much better, huh? If everyone was willing to do good, and just…do what was right. We wouldn't be alive, though. Itex wouldn't exist, either." I have a bad feeling a breakdown is on its way.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that… I miss Fang. So much. I'm just so sure that I'll get a call, or see on the news that they found him in a ditch, or, or, or-"

"No. Stop. He's probably fine, you know. Found a place to stay, with people who accept him, helping save the planet." If there ever was a time to make a move, it would be now.

I wrap both my arms around her, and extend my wings, then pull them around us. This is the first time I've really held her, other than when I was first learning to fly. I'll admit, I'd often pretend to fall so she would have to catch me. God, I'm pathetic.

_And in the air, the fireflies_

_Our only light in paradise_

_To show the world, they were wrong_

_And teach them all to sing along_

_Singing Amen, I'm alive_

_Singing Amen, I'm alive_

"Hey, look! Fireflies!" I say, attempting to lighten the mood. Max barely smiles. Max, the tough one, the leader, the I-will-bash-your-brains-in-if-you-hurt-my-family girl, is crying. Full out, tears running down the face, crying. As if this moment could get any worse. What are you supposed to say when the girl you love is crying over another boy with you?_ That sucks, wanna have a hot make out session with yours truly? _Not.

_If everyone cared, and nobody cried,_

_If everyone loved, and nobody lied _

_If everyone shared, and swallowed their pride_

_Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

"Please stop crying. Fang isn't the only guy out there, you know. There's a lot of other guys out there that wouldn't abandon you, and leave you without saying goodbye."

"Human guys, you mean."

"I can think of two here."

I could see the gears in Max's brain turning. Now or never.

"You really think Iggy might like me that way?"

"Uhhh, I dunno. But I like you… you know. A lot." What a great way to tell a girl I like her.

"Yeah, I like you too, Dylan. I just feel like everything is pushing down on me. I've got to take care of five mutants, save the world, find Fang… It just feels like too much."

"Let it go, then. Just stop and breathe, and try to forget, even just for a moment."

"You're right. It's time to let go. Thanks, Fa-Dylan." She stood, and wiped the tears away from her face.

_And as we lie_

_Beneath the stars_

_We realize how small we are_

_If they could love, like you and me_

_Imagine what the world could be_

_If everyone cared, and nobody cried_

_If everyone loved, and nobody lied_

_If everyone shared, and swallowed their pride,_

_Then we'd see the day that nobody died._

Max turned back towards me from the edge of the roof. "Someday, Dyl, the world will be that way. Everyone _will _care. I hope you'll be around to see it."

She turned, and jumped off the roof, past the face of the cliff. And so I waited, waited for the sound of her wings snapping out, waited for the sound that never came.

_Then we'd see the day that nobody died_

**A/N note: For the record, I'm planning on trying to do my All the Right Reasons songfics before Dark Horse ones. I might try a few from other albums too. Sorry for the long wait, blame annoying account problems.**


End file.
